The following relates generally to distributed testing in a test environment.
Typically, a test engineer develops a test to test operation of a unit, system or software file under controlled conditions. Test engineers interested in developing test programs often need to interface with an instrument to test the instrument itself, use the instrument to test a unit under test, or incorporate live measured data from the instrument into a test.
Another example of a test is the verification and validation of a system modeled in software. In such a scenario, a system designer often models a physical system or component in software to explore design ideas and parameters. A test may be used to verify different design iterations meet specific design requirements that must be satisfied. For example, a test engineer may use a computing environment to generate and optimally configure the test.
Once a test is generated and the test configuration is determined, the test may be executed. During the test execution, the data collected by the test instruments are read into the system. Data computations and data analysis may be performed during or after the data acquisition. In some systems, the data is visualized during acquisition to help the user or test engineer to fine-tune the test setup. The test and measurement process does not typically end once the data is captured or the test is run. After the completion of test, the collected data may be analyzed or modeled. Presentation-quality reports and graphics of the results may be created and presented to the end user.
Such testing and data analysis may involve a significant amount of computer time.